


Awake

by lpmc94



Series: Jace's Adventures [9]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:09:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lpmc94/pseuds/lpmc94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jace Trevalyan relives a long lost memory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Awake

_A young boy awoke in his small bed to the shouts of his mother. He hurried down to breakfast. His thirteenth naming day had come, and the boy’s mother had cooked an amazing spread of food to celebrate._

_“Happy Naming Day, Jace!” his mother shouted. His father simply smiled as the boy sat down for an amazing breakfast feast._  
 ________________________________

_Jace followed his friend out to the lake, the two jumping into the cold water. On such a hot summer’s day, the frigid lake was a welcome relief. The area was seemingly deserted, most people preferring to stay inside on the hot day. The boys swam till their small arms couldn’t move anymore. They lay out on the banks of the lake, letting the hot sun dry their wet bodies._

_Jace rolled over to see that Daylen’s face was inches away from his own, golden eyes large and bright. The smaller boy just barely let his lips ghost across his friend’s. Jace was left breathless as Daylen pulled away. The flustered young man giggled a bit. Jace then sighed and rolled onto his naked back, Daylen snuggling close to his friend._

_After laying beside one another for nearly an hour, Jace looked at Daylen with an excited smile on his face._

_“You wanna see something cool?” Jace queried excitedly._

_“Umm…sure,” Daylen replied, somewhat confused._

_“Look at my hand,” Jace bade his friend._

_Both boys began to look at Jace’s hand. Slowly, a ball of blue flame began to rise from the boy’s palm. Jace willed it to grow larger, reaching the size of a large ball. A whistling sound pierced the air, and then suddenly Jace’s head slammed into the ground. Dimly, he felt a wet fluid trickle down through his hair, and his head began to pound fiercely. The boy wearily lifted his head to see Daylen nearly twenty feet away, now hidden behind a large bear of a man. Daylen’s father was yelling at Jace, words that seemed to make no sense to the young boy’s addled mind. He wearily realized that the man had seen Jace performing magic from the edge of the forest and raced to protect his son._

_However, what Jace had failed to also see was the fearful look in Daylen’s eyes. Fear not at what his father was doing, but fear of the magic, of Jace. Jace felt the betrayal rip through his body, hurting him far more than the physical wounds the older man had inflicted. Tears ran down his eyes in liquid streams of salt. He could only watch, heart broken, as Daylen’s father raised another stone, larger than the first. As the man prepared to throw, Jace closed his eyes and raised his hands, letting go. A roaring sound echoed throughout the forest. When the young boy opened again his eyes, the world was awash in a sea of blue flame. The forest was burning, the blue flames casting  an ethereal and fey glow about the lake. There was no trace left of either Daylen or his father, both obliterated within an instant. Jace began to scream, for in the distance, he could see the uncontrollable flames climbing the spire of the village Chantry._

_… **Jace!**_

_Jace looked around wildly, searching for the voice that had shouted his name._

_… **JACE!**_

_Jace violently spun around to come face to face with another tall man. His skin was of a dark color, and held eyes of golden green hue. He was lithely built, and the young boy could see muscle beneath the man’s white robes. The man gently took the crying boy’s face in his large hands, and slowly wiped away the boy’s tears._

_The man whispered to Jace, “Wake up.”_

_The world shattered._  
______________________________

    Jace’s eyes slammed open to a menagerie of sounds. He took in Dorian’s worried visage, inches away from his own. The Inquisitor took in the situation around him. Both Solas and Vivienne were holding an enormous shield over their group, Cassandra, Bull, and Blackwall standing ready behind the barrier. Sera, Cole, and Varric stood guard over Jace. Rising to his feet, the Inquisitor saw a large group of demons pounding away at the barrier. Beyond the mob of lesser demons, Jace saw an unusually large demon of fear floating silently near the back of the cavern. Upon seeing the deformed creature, Jace understood. When the battle had begun, the fear demon had managed to attack Jace’s mind, and in doing so had forced him into an unbreakable nightmare. Solas and Vivienne had raised a barrier together while Dorian projected his spirit into Jace’s mind to break him free. During this rush of insight, the Inquisitor’s rage had grown exponentially. For his mind to be violated like that…there were no words to describe the man’s fury.

    Walking to the front of the shield, Jace ordered, “Drop the shield. Now.”

    Reluctantly, both Vivienne and Solas heeded his command.

    As the blue shimmer disappeared, Jace threw his hands forward. He cast forth his fear, his anger, his pain, using them all to fuel his power. The man roared as his hands once again erupted into a sea of blue flame, the same magic that had started it all. As the enchanted fire rushed forward, Jace could almost see the shapes of creatures within the flame, half-forgotten creatures of myth and legend. The lesser demons were vaporized in the initial blast, though the demon of fear attempted to deflect Jace’s spell with his own. But it was not to be. Jace’s rage was far to great to be stopped. The demon’s otherworldly screams carried throughout the area as it too was banished back to the depths of the Fade.

    Jace vanquished the remnants of cursed fire, leaving an absolute silence within the cavern. All of the demons had been vaporized, the walls of the area polished like glass due to the extreme heat. The man collapsed, utterly exhausted. Tears quietly streamed from his eyes, as he succumbed to darkness.  
______________________________

     Since their return to Skyhold two days prior, Jace had avoided everyone within the great castle. Dorian was the exception, making sure that Jace ate and that he never slept alone. It was on the third night that Dorian awoke in the great bed, naked and alone. He turned to the balcony overlooking the great mountains, and saw Jace standing in all his glory. The man’s proud, lithe body stood tall, lit by the moon. Muscle gained from both running and sparring with Bull had added to the mage’s already athletic frame. Dorian shook his head in wonder, confused as to how he had ever been so lucky as to love a man like Jace Trevalyan.

    The Tevinter mage stood and walked towards his lover, who stood with his back turned to Dorian, green eyes facing the silvery pale moon. Dorian reached his lover, enfolding his arms around the waist of the taller man. He pressed his lips to Jace’s neck, nuzzling him.

    Jace’s voice broke through the quiet night, “You saw it all?”

    Dorian replied with a noise of affirmation, allowing Jace to speak.

    "I...killed them. All of them. Even my parents were not spared from the blaze," Jace whispered.

    "I know," Dorian replied consolingly.

    "I'm a monster," the Inquisitor whispered brokenly.

    Here Dorian forcefully turned Jace around, and gently framed his face with his hands, just as he had done within the dream.

    "No, you are not a monster," Dorian said emphatically. "I could never have come to love a monster. You were a child who made a mistake. You were defending yourself against a man who would have killed you."

    Jace stared helplessly into Dorian's golden green eyes, finding nothing but a love as deep and boundless as the ocean. Jace slowly collapsed onto the floor of the balcony. Dorian came down with him, his embrace as absolute as the love he held for the despairing man. And as Jace broke down, Dorian held tight. Both men sat there on the stone floor, bathed in the sweet, rapturous light of the moon above.


End file.
